Overview
- Provides a new historical perspective on the German Revolution based on fresh archival research
- Offers reflections on central problems in contemporary political theory through a thorough engagement with the main thinkers of the revolution
- Combines political, historical and theoretical perspectives
Part of the book series: Marx, Engels, and Marxisms (MAENMA)
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Table of contents (17 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Rethinking the Revolution
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Front Matter
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Political Theorists of the German Revolution
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Front Matter
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The German Revolution in Contemporary Political Theory
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Front Matter
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Keywords
- political ideology
- democracy
- Spartacus League
- Rosa Luxemburg
- Radical Right
- Nazism
- Workers’ Councils
- Karl Kautsky
- Eduard Bernstein
- socialist republicanism
- dictatorship
- democratic socialism
- Women in the German Revolution
- Revolutionary Berlin
- pure council system
- Non-Violent Non-Cooperation
- Gustav Landauer
- Council Democracy
- Hannah Arendt
- Council Communism
- german politics
About this book
This book is the first collection within political theory to examine the ideas and debates of the German Revolution of 1918/19. It discusses the political theorists and actors of the revolution and uncovers an incredibly fertile body of political thought. Revolutionary events led to the proliferation of new political strategies, theoretical insights and institutional proposals. Key questions included the debate between a national assembly and a council system, the socialisation of the economy, the development of new forms of political representation and the proper role of parliaments, political parties and trade unions. This book offers novel perspectives on the history of the revolution, a thorough engagement with its main thinkers and an analysis of its relevance for contemporary political thought.
Reviews
“I highly recommend this brilliant book to all who seek new ways of thinking about a more democratic future.” (Martin Breaugh, York University, Toronto, Canada, and author of The Plebeian Experience: A Discontinuous History of Political Freedom (2013))
“The German Revolution was a decisive event in world history. Lenin considered its success vital for the spread of socialism and the survival of the Soviet Union. To ask why it failed and what the revolutionaries could have done differently remains as relevant as ever. This excellent collection, focusing on often neglected aspects of the tumultuous period, makes an important contribution to both historical scholarship and political strategizing today.” (Gabriel Kuhn, editor of All Power to the Councils! A Documentary History of the German Revolution of 1918-1919)
“This volume brings together some of the most interesting scholars writing on the German Revolution today. It is a significant contribution to interpretations of the revolution and how to build democratic socialist societies. This is an important and exciting book that will interest readers beyond the academic boundaries of history and political theory.” (Dario Azzellini, editor of Ours to Master and to Own (with I. Ness, 2011) and An Alternative Labour History (2015))
“This is a superb collection of essays covering the events of 1918-1920 in Germany from a wide variety of new perspectives. Light is shed on important figures such as Gustav Landauer and Rosa Luxemburg and, at the same time, original ideas about radical democracy and state building are discussed with scholarly detail and acute contemporary relevance. The book will be of great interest to students, academics, and activists seeking to learn more about modern German history, political theory, and strategies for the democratisation of society.”(Darrow Schecter, University of Sussex, UK, and author of Critical Theory & Sociological Theory (2019))
Editors and Affiliations
About the editors
Gaard Kets is a historian and political theorist and lectures in political science at Radboud University, the Netherlands. His current research focuses on council communist ideology and the German Revolution.
James Muldoon is a lecturer in political science at the University of Exeter, UK. He is the editor of Council Democracy: Towards a Democratic Socialist Politics (2018) and Trumping the Mainstream: The Conquest of Mainstream Democratic Politics by the Populist Radical Right (2018, with L.E. Herman), and the author of Hegel’s Philosophy of Drives (2014). His work has appeared in Political Studies, History of Political Thought, Theory, Culture & Society, Constellations, Critical Horizons, and Parrhesia.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The German Revolution and Political Theory
Editors: Gaard Kets, James Muldoon
Series Title: Marx, Engels, and Marxisms
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13917-9
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Political Science and International Studies, Political Science and International Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-13916-2Published: 16 May 2019
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-13917-9Published: 02 May 2019
Series ISSN: 2524-7123
Series E-ISSN: 2524-7131
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XVIII, 363
Number of Illustrations: 2 b/w illustrations
Topics: Political Theory, German Politics, Democracy, Political History